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Imran Khan
Correspondent | Pakistan
Biography

Imran Khan, a Doha-based correspondent, is reporting from across Pakistan.

Latest posts by Imran Khan

By Imran Khan in Asia on January 16th, 2010
Al Jazeera

I will never forget the first time I met Asim in person. Myself and Zein Basravi, Al Jazeera's producer in Pakistan, had been working long days in Karachi chasing down a story on Taliban financing.

Around 1am we arrived at Asim's house, in desperate need of some non-Taliban company.

He struck me as a skinny youth, living a little bit like the character Estelle from the Dickens novel Great Expectations.

This young man staying at his grandmothers house. His work littered the place, and he sat with his friends smoking and sharing good times.

He welcomed us with open arms.

Fiercely creative

I remember thinking that Asim had a wicked smile, and a fiercely creative mind, buzzing with ideas.

He loved to share them and at the end of the evening he promised to take me on a tour of Karachi's galleries.

The next morning he was true to his word and off we went in search of the true art of Pakistan.

By Imran Khan in Asia on December 29th, 2009
Photo from AFP

The last time I was here in the Swat valley the Taliban were firmly in control.

It was just before the armies major offensive there and hope for a peace deal between the Taliban and the Government was high.

Within days of my visit the peace deal was in tatters.

Back then the drive into Swat was a tense one. Taliban checkpoints littered the picturesque valley and the turbaned guards had their AK 47 assault rifles on full display.

This time the journey is still tense, but main difference is the Taliban have been replaced by the green of Pakistan's army uniforms.

The army pushed the Taliban out but things are still not back to normal.

We have to pass through a number of  army posts and at each one guns point towards our vehicle whilst searches are carried out.

The Taliban still have a presence here, many say they are on the outskirts of the valley waiting for the army to leave.

Tags: army, Taliban
By Imran Khan in Asia on December 28th, 2009
Photo by AFP

It was an extraordinary speech. After months of silence, Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, finally spoke out.

It was the anniversary of the death of his wife, Benazir Bhutto, who died on December 27, 2007 on the campaign trail.

The speech was at Naudero, the spiritual home of Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh Province, southwest Pakistan.
 
The president was blunt. He spoke of "non-state actors" trying to break up Pakistan. He spoke of sacrifice.

"We have shed our blood for building institutions, know how they have been built. We know what will happen when such institutions clash and we don't want to see such a day," he said.

By Imran Khan in Asia on December 24th, 2009
Photo by AFP

For a man under pressure he looks remarkably calm. Striding towards the court is the country's interior minister, Rehman Malik.

He is a colourful character, matching his handkerchief and tie just so ( today's colour appeared to be silver), and is the man who job it is to protect Pakistan from the wave of attacks it has seen in recent months.

On this particular Thursday, though, it's Malik's turn to defend himself. He is accused of dismissing the  director of the FIA, the country's FBI, illegally. The director was investigating alleged in corruption in case involving Pakistan Steel Mills.

He denies the charges. Normally a political case like this would get the media's attention.

Today, though, it's seen as something other than a political scandal. It's being framed as another battle in the fight between the judiciary and the government.

By Imran Khan in Asia on December 17th, 2009
Photo from EPA

It had all the makings of a great TV show: A president under a cloud, a supreme court with a historic judgment to make and a nation in waiting.

To add to the drama a decision was made by the court to tell the world at 4.30pm local time [11.30GMT] their verdict. It was a tense wait as the deadline passed.

In the hours that we waited for the judgement, speculation was high. The rumours where that the supreme court's 17 judges were divided between hawks and doves. That the decision was painful because others wanted to find a middle way.

Finally, a little before 11pm, it arrived. A scriptwriter could not written a better ending. Once the judgement came, speculation turned to jubilation for some, shock for others - null and void.

By Imran Khan in Asia on December 7th, 2009
Photo by Getty Images

Ok, so it's a silly headline, but Osama bin Laden's name has been appearing more frequently in the media of late. There seems to be renewed focus on capturing or killing the man many in the west say is responsible for the deaths of over 3,000 people on September 11, 2001.

But where is he?

A Pakistani Taliban commander claimed that he had met with Bin Laden in Pakistan, but that he had fled the country once the Pakistani army began their anti-Taliban operation in South Waziristan in October.

Senior US officials seem to have no idea where he is.

One newspaper quoted Robert Gates, the US secretary of defence, about when the last time the US had good intelligence on the whereabouts of Osama. He was blunt: "I think it's been years."

On Sunday, the US announced it would seal the Pakistan-Afghan border to try and prevent attacks on the Pakistani side. It’s seen as a plan to try and get the world’s most wanted man.

By Imran Khan in Asia on December 1st, 2009
Photo from AFP

On the eve of the US troop announcement and Islamabad's chattering classes are abuzz with speculation.

Tags:
By Imran Khan in Asia on November 28th, 2009
Photo by EPA

I woke up this Saturday morning to the sound of what felt like 1,000 preachers all simultaneously announcing the Eid prayer in Islamabad.
 
The early morning wake up call felt fortuitous. The country faces yet another political crisis. Eid for many Muslims is a chance to reflect, to take stock. I wondered what Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, was doing at this moment - whether he was reflecting on his office, on his legacy and Pakistan's murky political climate.  
 
Zardari is under immense pressure. That pressure comes from the NRO, or National Reconciliation Ordinance. The decree, which was introduced in 2007, allowed then-president Pervez Musharraf to allow opposition politicians outside the country to return to Pakistan, free from prosecution on criminal cases lodged against them.
 
Fast forward to today and the deal seems to have backfired.

By Imran Khan in Asia on November 22nd, 2009
Photo from AFP

Mullah Omar, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, has a free reign to travel around Pakistan, it would seem.

By Imran Khan in Asia on November 2nd, 2009
Photo by AFP

There was something different about this bomb scene - I got a sense of that almost as soon as we reached the site.

There was nervousness in the air. The army had cordoned off the streets and the police insisted we could not go near where the suicide bomber had struck.

Normally a bomb site in Pakistan is a chaotic scene - TV news trucks surround the area, correspondents prepare for lives, photographers clamber through the wreckage, bystanders stand and watch the tragic circus unfold as ambulances and police sirens provide the soundtrack. On almost every bombing I’ve covered for Al Jazeera in Pakistan since our launch - 3 years ago this month - I have been able to get to the site, film and record as the situation unfolds.

By Imran Khan in Asia on October 29th, 2009

Standing high in the hills of South Waziristan, where I begin to write this blog from, I finally have a chance to see for myself what Pakistan's army is up against in its fight with the Pakistani Taliban.

The army has banned journalists from travelling to conflict zones in the country, instead offering press briefings and its own videos.

Today is no exception. This is a media event, and dressed in flak jackets and helmets we - both foreign and domestic press - are taken on a tour of key areas the army says are secure.

At each stop we are briefed by the local commander, take a few pictures, are shown key finds such as weapons, ammunition and identity documents, before being whisked away again.

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By Imran Khan in Asia on October 28th, 2009
Photo by AFP

The news came just hours after the US secretary of state touched Pakistani soil.

A massive bomb blast in the north western city of Peshawar, in a central market place. I have visited that marketplace on many occasions.  It's a rabbit warren of tiny streets, shops stacked up on each other, traders touting their wares, each one with a better price than the others.

By Imran Khan in Asia on October 25th, 2009

There are occasions in Islamabad when you think to yourself, wow this is a gorgeous city.

It takes a certain kind of eyes to see - eyes that have time to look past the grey concrete blocks, the security checkpoints and the towering blast walls. Normally, in the fog of 24 hour news, one rarely gets the chance to stop and smell the roses as it were. I got a chance to do that today.
 
After the fierce fighting in Kotkai and the army announcing that it had taken the town, there has not been much to report, so I took a walk in my neighbourhood. On one side of the city the Margalla hills provide a comforting, protective barrier, the crows noisily battle with the other birds. The weather is perfect.
 

By Imran Khan in Asia on October 22nd, 2009

It shouldn't be there. In fact, part of me is hoping that it isn't going to be there.

But, as our van turns into the dust road, there it is: Jalozai refugee camp.

Months after Pakistan declared victory over the Taliban in the Swat valley, the camp still stands.

It shouldThe_displaced_often_have_nothing_but_a_few_supplies_handed_out_by_aid_groups..jpgn't, but it does.

It shouldn't because many displaced people have returned back to the Swat valley to rebuild their lives.

At its peak the camp housed more than 100,000 people.

Today the camp still houses nearly 4,000. These are the ones with nothing left to salvage and nothing left to build with. Their faces say it all: tired, stressed and covered in dust.

Tags: Taliban
By Imran Khan in Asia on October 20th, 2009
Photo by AFP

As I write this, I stand outside of the International Islamic University in Islamabad.

Just 30 minutes ago, 2 bombs rocked this building at 2 different locations.

The blasts were immense.

Inside the university, the smell of smoke makes you choke. On the ground, a blood trail leaves you in no doubt as to the ferocity of this attack.

The detritus of everyday objects are strewn across the floor. I pick up a watch, a cheap $10 affair from one of the local markets. It's blackened and burnt.

I wonder if its owner is alive or dead.

As I walk up the university steps I see brains splattered on the floor, the closer we get to the epicenter, the more blood and guts I see.

By Imran Khan in Asia on October 19th, 2009

Over breakfast in Islamabad, one newspaper headline caught my eye: "On whose side is the US anyway?".
 
The report detailed allegations that in the last four weeks, the US army has abandoned checkpoints on the Afghan side of the border with Pakistan's South Waziristan.  We cannot double-check whether or not that information is right, as both US and NATO forces keep a tight lid on operational details.

But that's almost not the point - the point is the frustration of many here with the US and the reality that terrain is the biggest factor in the war against the Taliban.

By Imran Khan in Asia on October 17th, 2009

In times of conflict, journalists want to be able to go see things for themselves. It's an obvious thought I know, but as Pakistan's army mounts its operation in South Waziristan, I am reminded of that thought as we are currently banned by the army from bearing witness to the fighting.

We cannot travel to the area and are covering it from the capital Islamabad and regional locations nearby. We can only go to the conflict zone alongside the army - and that’s as and when the army sees fit.

It's really frustrating. On a basic level, if there is nobody around to film or to write, then who is to say what is happening during the conflict?

For the army, it's a security issue. Having camera crews careen around a conflict zone is a liability for them, and dead journalists make for bad public relations.

But my frustration at not being there is showing. I am having to rely on army handouts, press releases and the like.

By Imran Khan in Asia on October 15th, 2009
Pakistani police commandos in Lahore, photo by AFP

They walked casually up to the front door of the Intelligence service building, quite casually by all accounts. Then they started shooting, sparking a gun battle that was repeated across three different locations in the iconic city of Lahore.

Last week, when the Pakistani Taliban stormed into the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, many were surprised at the brazenness of the attack. More were surprised when the army did not act sooner, waiting a full 20 hours before retaking the building.

The attack was written off as a one-time thing. But, apparently, nobody told the Taliban that. Thursday’s attacks in Lahore were a bold statement that said in no uncertain terms, we can and will attack you at your base.